Baltic buyer for UK salmon specialists

TWO artisan British companies specialising in high quality smoked salmon products have been bought by the Baltic region’s fastest growing seafood company.

AS PR Foods, based in Estonian capital Tallinn, has acquired John Ross Jr of Aberdeen and the Gloucestershire business Coln Valley Smokery, which is part of the JRJ group, for £10.5 million or 12.3 million euros.

Reports suggest the deal has earned the founders a generous cash windfall.

AS PR Foods is a business with big ambitions. Just a few months ago it unveiled a record performance in 2016 with sales of more than 47 million euros.

The company is engaged in the production and processing of fish products in Finland and Estonia, and fish farming in Sweden and Finland.

But the company did admit at the time that rising raw material prices were causing problems for seafood businesses.

Trout farmed in the lakes of Sweden and in the archipelago in the Turku area in Finland, as well as salmon imported from Norway, are processed in the production facilities of Heimon Kala in Renko, Finland, and in Vettel on the island Saaremaa, Estonia.

This deal gives AS PR Foods a strong foothold into the quality end of the UK supermarket business as John Ross Jr has a presence in Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

John Ross Jr, which carries the Royal Warrant, was founded 30

Cash windfall This is a business with big

years ago by Andrew Leigh. The company bought the Cotswold based Coln Valley Smokery in 2009, which gives it access to sporting events, including Cheltenham, the Henley Royal Regatta and Wimbledon, which Coln had agreements with.

In June, John Ross Jr won the coveted People’s Choice Family Business of the Year Award.